The traditional, scaled, general 83 item SCL-90-R scale is a valid measure of general psychopathology. The SCL-90-R subscales of somatization, hostility, and interpersonal sensitivity as well as the affective subscales of depression, anxiety, and ADHD were all accepted by the Mokken test for scalability, i.e. their total scores are sufficient statistics.

The Inventory of Problems -29 (IOP-29) was recently introduced as a brief, easy-to-use measure of non-credible mental and cognitive symptoms that may be applied to a wide variety of contexts or clinical conditions. The current study compared its validity in discriminating bonafide versus feigned (via experimental malingering paradigm) psychopathology against that of the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS). Specifically, 452 Italian adult volunteers participated in this study: 216 were individuals with mental illness who were asked to take the SIMS and IOP-29 honestly, and 236 were nonclinical participants (experimental simulators) who took the same two tests with the instruction to feign a psychopathological condition. Two main, broad categories of symptom presentations were investigated: (a) psychotic spectrum disorders and (b) anxiety, depression, and/or trauma-related disorders. Data analysis compared the effect sizes of the differences between the patients and experimental simulators, as well as the AUC and classification accuracy statistics for both the SIMS and IOP-29. The results indicate that the IOP-29 outperformed the SIMS, with the differences between the two tools being more notable within the psychotic (IOP-29 vs. SIMS: d = -1.80 vs. d = -1.06; AUC = .89 vs. AUC = .79) than within the anxiety, depression, and/or trauma related subgroup (IOP-29 vs. SIMS: d = -2.02 vs. d = -1.62; AUC = .90 vs. AUC = .86). This study also demonstrates that the IOP-29, with its single cutoff score, is generalizable culturally and linguistically from the U.S. (English) to Italy (Italian).

Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) are the most implemented methodologies to detect alterations of both gray and white matter (WM). However, the role of WM in mental disorders is still not well defined. We aimed at clarifying the role of WM disruption in schizophrenia and at identifying the most frequently involved brain networks. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify VBM and DTI studies focusing on WM alterations in patients with schizophrenia compared to control subjects. We selected studies reporting the coordinates of WM reductions and we performed the anatomical likelihood estimation (ALE). Moreover, we labeled the WM bundles with an anatomical atlas and compared VBM and DTI ALE-scores of each significant WM tract. A total of 59 studies were eligible for the meta-analysis. WM alterations were reported in 31 and 34 foci with VBM and DTI methods, respectively. The most occurred WM bundles in both VBM and DTI studies and largely involved in schizophrenia were long projection fibers, callosal and commissural fibers, part of motor descending fibers, and fronto-temporal-limbic pathways. The meta-analysis showed a widespread WM disruption in schizophrenia involving specific cerebral circuits instead of well-defined regions.

Recently, the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS; Meyer, Viglione, Mihura, Erard, & Erdberg, 2011 ) was introduced to overcome some possible limitations of the Comprehensive System (CS; Exner, 2003 ) while continuing its efforts to link Rorschach inferences to their evidence base. An important, technical modification to the scoring system is that R-PAS interpretations are based on both standard scores and complexity-adjusted scores. Two previous U.S. studies reported good to excellent interrater reliability (IRR) for the great majority of R-PAS variables; however, IRR of complexity-adjusted scores has never been investigated. Furthermore, no studies have yet investigated R-PAS IRR in Europe. To extend this literature, we examined R-PAS IRR of Page 1 and Page 2 raw and complexity-adjusted scores with 112 Italian Rorschach protocols. We collected a large sample of both clinical and nonclinical Rorschach protocols, each of which was coded separately by 2 independent raters. Results demonstrated a mean intraclass correlation of .78 (SD = .14) for raw scores and.74 (SD = .14) for complexity-adjusted scores. Overall, for both raw and complexity-adjusted values, most of the variables were characterized by good to excellent IRR.

The Inventory of Problems -29 (IOP-29;Viglione, Giromini & Landis, 2017) is a new, brief, self-report measure designed to assist practitioners evaluating the credibility of various symptom presentations. It is comprised of 29 items that are administrable via classic, paper-andpencil format, or online, using either a tablet or a PC. Most of the items focus on the subjective experience of the test-taker dealing with his or her problems, some others address specific symptoms or deficits, and a few others present calculation and reasoning problems. By analyzing and combining the responses to each of these 29 items, a logistic regression-derived formula generates the False Disorder Probability Score (FDS), a probability value reflecting the likelihood of drawing that specific IOP-29 from a group of experimental feigners versus a group of bona fide patients, if the a-priori expectations were 50% to 50%. When the FDS is zero, the presentation is completely credible; when it approaches one, it is not credible at all. More generally, the lower the FDS, the higher the credibility of the presented complaints. Initial research with the IOP-29 has shown very promising findings. In a series of clinical comparison, simulation studies (experimental malingering paradigm) conducted by Viglione et al. (2017), the classification accuracy of the IOP-29 compared favorably to that of the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM; Tombaugh, 1996) when testing bona fide versus feigned depression-related presentations (n = 88), and resembled to that of the longer and more complex Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2; Green, 1991) and Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991, 2007) when testing bona fide versus feigned schizophrenia-(n = 178), depression-(n = 85) and mTBI/PTSD-related (n = 128) presentations.

According to the "embodied simulation theory," exposure to certain visual stimuli would automatically trigger action simulation in the mind of the observer, thereby originating a "feeling of movement" modulated by the mirror neuron system (MNS). Grounded on this conceptualization, some of us recently suggested that when exposed to the Rorschach inkblots, in order to see a human movement (e.g., "a person running") in those ambiguous stimuli, the observer would need to experience a "feeling of movement" via embodied simulation. The current study used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to further test this hypothesis. Specifically, we investigated whether temporarily interfering with the activity of the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG; a putative MNS area) using rTMS would decrease the propensity to see human movement (M) in the Rorschach inkblots. Thirty-six participants were exposed to the Rorschach stimuli twice, i.e., during a baseline (without rTMS) and soon after inhibitory rTMS. As for the rTMS condition, half of the sample was stimulated over the LIFG (experimental group) and the other half over the Vertex (control group). In line with our hypothesis, the application of rTMS over LIFG, but not over Vertex, yielded a statistically significant reduction in the attribution of M to the ambiguous stimuli, with large effect size. These findings may be interpreted as being consistent with the hypothesis that there is a link between the MNS and the "feeling of movement" people may experience, when observing ambiguous stimuli such as the Rorschach cards.

Abstract:Emotion Regulation (ER) is an important aspect of every-day behavior relevant to both clinical and diagnostic practice. To date several studies have investigated the psychometric properties of Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004) scores, however, the extent to which the DERS is affected by the gender and/or age of the respondents has so far been only poorly investigated. Furthermore, no studies have yet offered suggestions or guidelines on how to interpret different DERS scores. To fill this gap, the current study aimed at: (a) investigating with two relatively large Italian samples the influence of gender and age on DERS scores; (b) introducing a new approach to develop age and gender adjusted normative reference values for the DERS; (c) providing suggestions on how to interpret the resultant, age and gender adjusted, T-transformed, DERS scores. The results of our analyses show that within our first Italian sample (n = 808), DERS scores tended to decrease with age, whereas gender had a small impact on them. Moreover, and more importantly, our age and gender adjusted, T-transformed, DERS scores calculated based on this first sample almost perfectly matched the scores produced by a second, independent, nonclinical Italian sample (n = 404). Our findings thus support the effectiveness of our method to generate normative reference values for the DERS. Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation

Assessment of ADHD typically includes rating scales completed by parents, teachers, and/or patients themselves. However, rating scales may be subject to rater bias effects, and raters may not recognize the patient's implicit qualities and underlying personality processes. In contrast, the Rorschach test permits standardized, in vivo observation and coding of behaviors as outcomes of implicit personality processes, and, thus, it may assist clinicians in the formulation of contextualized treatment decisions. By using the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS), a performance-based personality test characterized by empirical foundation and psychometric efficiency, we conducted an observational study to investigate in depth personality and its implicit qualities in children with ADHD who were not on medication. After reviewing thoroughly the previous studies on ADHD and the Rorschach and discussing their contradictory findings, we compared data of our sample (N = 31) with the R-PAS normative children's group. Several Rorschach variables differed from R-PAS norms and indicated the presence of unconventional perceptions characterized by non-cognitively mediated interactions and difficulties mentalizing human behavior. Overall, it appears that hyperactivity and impulsivity are associated with unconventional and sometimes mistaken processing of information especially relevant to people and relationships. Although we compared the Rorschach profiles to norms rather than a matched control group, our findings could provide useful information for understanding the personality functioning beyond manifest symptoms or symptom reports of children with ADHD.